fandomhigh | Biology, Period 2, Tuesday, Oct. 10

The students have gotten an e-mail telling them to meet in the Danger Shop today -- and to dress for warm weather; when they gather, the doors open on a tropical rain forest scene, with trees rising high above their heads, frogs leaping from leaf to leaf, and the occasional black-and-white streak of a badger rushing through the undergrowth. Elliot's tied her hair back into a ponytail, and she's dressed casually, in a T-shirt and khaki slacks.

"Hi, guys. Today we're talking about evolution and natural selection, and I thought that to show it off, we'd take a little fake trip to one of the most genetically diverse environments in the world -- the Amazon Rainforest.

"I want you to have most of the class to explore, so I'm going to keep my lecture short. The natural selection chapter in your textbook has a lot more information and you should probably read it before the midterm. But basically, natural selection is the way that animals or plants that are well-adapted to their environment get to live to the next generation and pass on their traits."

She reached down and scooped up two frogs, one red and one greenish-yellow, only wincing a little as she did so. "For example, these frogs are very differently colored, because they fill different niches. But if they were suddenly in an environment that was all red or all green, one would be able to camouflage itself and the other would probably be someone's dinner -- not mine, ew -- pretty fast. And the one that isn't dinner gets to have more tadpoles and pass on its genes."

Elliot released the frogs and wiped her hands on her pants. "What I want you to do today is to go into the rainforest -- alone or with a partner -- to observe and pick an animal or plant that's adapted to this environment, and write down 100 words about why the being might survive in the rainforest. Look at everything about the being, from structure to size to diet to coloration. And don't worry about getting lost; I'll hit the button to make the whole rainforest go away at the end of class."

She leaned against a tree trunk and waited for the students to disperse into the rainforest.

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"He did," she nodded. "Although he didn't mention the video. He said it was life affirming. Don't worry, I told him he was insane."

"Good," Parker spit out. "Whatever. Glad he's having such a damn good time, in between really risking his life." She threw the flower at the tree, and watched a puff of pollen get released. She grimaced. "He didn't... never mind."

"I told him he should visit Roswell," Isabel said. "And look up Max and Michael. I think that's a good punishment for making us worry." She watched Parker out of the corner of her eye. "He didn't. I'm sorry."

"Why would he?" Parker voice was quieter, but no less bitter. "If he'd wanted me to know what he was doing, he would've called." She swallowed, and her face transformed into a snarl. "I get the freakin' message. He's fine, I'm still wrong, he'll come back, or won't, no big deal."

Isabel thought of Jarod's reaction when she said Parker was upset. They were both being locked in a closet when Jarod got back and she wouldn't let them out until they really talked. "He's going to come back, he just has to make sure it's safe."

"Isabel, if you were his parents, would you let him come back here? Seriously?" Parker looked away. "And if you'd just found your family, why on earth would you get anywhere close to the people who took them away from you? Can you see Jarod giving up on finding them now that he's got a lead?" She made a dismissive gesture. "Don't have any expectations regarding Jarod. That way you won't get disappointed."

"Because although he found them, he's lost them again. And he doesn't know where to look for them now," Isabel said. "And at least if he came back here there would be people to watch his back."

Which hits Parker someplace that hurts, to think that maybe he will come back. It's easier to stay angry with him if she tells herself she'll never see him again. "Yeah, well. I'll believe it when I see it." Another humorless smile. "I'm sure he'll call and let you know. Or GOB. Or Lorne. You guys can give him a lift from the airport if he needs it."

"He did say he would call again," she admitted and then snickered despite Parker's obvious unhappiness. "Or possibly email. I suggest OMG I love Johnny Depp as an email address, using yahoo or something. He could hide amongst the squeeing fangirls."

"Heh." Parker was briefly entertained by the idea of Jarod using that kind of email address, or some variation thereof. Orland4Evah, maybe. "Well, that's one way to hide in plain sight. Not that he isn't good at it already." Which reminds her of the things she found in his closet, and makes her shoulders hunch again at the lies he told and risks he took. "He could always claim to *be* Johnny Depp while he's at it. I'm sure he'd convince someone, somewhere."

"I think he's a little too tall," Isabel pointed out. She considered saying 'I'm sorry' but she was pretty sure Parker didn't want to hear it.

Parker shook her head. "He'd explain it convincingly enough to get some fangirl to autograph his... whatever. Not the point. I'm glad he's alive and okay. I can say that much." She looked away, and carefully unwound an orchid from another branch. "Don't ask me to have any other reaction."

"I know," she nodded. "But I didn't know that you'd heard from him. I thought you'd want to know that he was okay." Isabel motioned towards the orchid. "So what do you think? What's special about that orchid that helps it survive in the jungle?"

Parker flinched. "Right." She stared at the orchid, and said, "It's made for sex."

Isabel couldn't help it. She snorted. "Is that topic going to follow me around all week?"

"Oh, yes. Until the deed is done, Clarissa." Parker smirked. "Scent, color, structure-- all developed to attract insects and get pollinized." She leaned toward the flower and inhaled. "That it works on people is just a side benefit."

Biology, Period 2, Tuesday, Oct. 10

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